The United States on Sunday said that it was deeply concerned about recent action Bangladesh had taken to give authority to the Grameen Bank board chairman, appointed by the government, to select the bank’s managing director.
‘This move would diminish the role the largely female borrower-shareholders play in shaping the direction of an institution that has made a difference to millions of impoverished women in Bangladesh, and indeed around the world,’ Patrick Ventrell, acting deputy spokesperson of the US state department, said in Washington.
In a press statement, he said that Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, during her visit to Dhaka in May, had urged the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and the foreign minister, Dipu Moni, to take no actions undermining the Grameen Bank.
‘We are concerned that the latest actions by the government could threaten the future of the bank, which
was founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus,’ Ventrell said.
The United States called on Bangladesh to respect the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of the Grameen Bank.
‘We urge the Bangladeshi government to ensure transparency in the selection of a new managing director who has unquestioned integrity, competence, and dedication to preserving Grameen Bank, its unique governance structure, and its effectiveness in bringing development and hope to 8.3 million of Bangladesh’s most vulnerable citizens, mostly women.’